Being a Psychedelic Shaman or Hallucinogenic Magick in Theory and Practice
I have been using mind altering drugs for spiritual exploration for most of my adult life. I am 41 now and I feel like I am just beginning to understand how these amazing substances can really change the world. I have also been studying magick, shamanism and mysticism for most of my adult life. When I started combining the two over 20 years ago, there wasn't much published on the subject. Yes there were books on using psychedelics for spirituality, however these books usually followed the eastern mysticism path. While there is nothing wrong with eastern mysticism, I just wasn't interested in just passively observing. I wanted a more active form of spiritual attainment. Although I did meditate, my real interests focused on western magick and hermeticism. I had read books on witchcraft or wicca, I even joined a coven for a while. I also read books on shamanism and hermetic magick. The books that heavily influenced me at the time were; Way of the Shaman by Michael Harner, The Teachings of Don Juan by Carlos Castaneda, and Magick in theory and Practice by Aleister Crowley. Each book gave me a piece to the puzzle but I was still lacking a good method of integrating these powerful substances into a context of magical ritual.
At this same time most people in the magical/spiritual community were rabidly anti-drug. No smoking pot before circle! Drugs and ritual don't mix! You can go insane by trying to mix drugs and ritual! Whenever I pointed out that hallucinogens have been used by primitive cultures going back thousands of year, I was met with skepticism and suspicion. Even those who were sympathetic told me that, while it may be true shamans of old used psychedelic plants, they had teachers experienced in such practices and we don't, so don't do them. That was that.
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